when the bread-oven sun
summer-bakes the earth
still the rain will fall, cooling
Copyright 2018 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading
Girls Gather
girls gather
on swings, flying high
laughter on the wind
Copyright 2018 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading
A Book by the Brook — Grace Hopper
Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
— William Shakespeare
Warning, geek alert! My geek flag flies high in my love of Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code, by Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by Katy Wu, Sterling Children’s Books, 2017. Continue reading
Message from a Rock Wall
be the flower
growing in dry spaces,
roots dug deep Continue reading
A Book by the Brook — Another Way to Climb a Tree
Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
— William Shakespeare
Lulu, an adventurous redhead who gets chicken pox, finds a clever way to climb a tree while staying inside her bedroom in Another Way to Climb a Tree, by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Hadley Hooper, A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Book Press, 2017. Continue reading
An Ocean of Thanks
An ocean of thanks
to dads who raise faces
to the dawn, holding
up the sky on broad shoulders,
for their children.
Copyright 2018 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading
Summer Poem Swap
June Song
–by Irene Latham
Let me be sun
kissing horizon each morning
warming lake
to bathwater. Continue reading
A Book by the Brook — Not Quite Narwhal
Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
— William Shakespeare
Little Kelp isn’t like the other narwhals, being short-tusked and a weaker-swimmer, but eventually he finds land-narwhals just like him. I won’t spoil the revelation in Not Quite NARWHAL written and illustrated by Jessie Sima, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017. Kelp has to figure out how to reconcile fitting somewhere new while still longing to be home.
Notes: A great picture book for anyone who’s just a little different than the others. Isn’t that all of us? Have a magical week!
Spring Rain
rain plops
plink, plink
shiny drops
trees drink
squirrels scatter
flowers glisten
birds natter
i listen
Copyright 2018 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading
A Book by the Brook — BunnyBear
Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
— William Shakespeare
For all the people whose inner sense of self won’t be tamed into a category just to make others happy, comes a wonderful new picture book, BunnyBear by Andrea J. Loney, illustrated by Carmen Saldaña, Albert Whitman & Company, 2017. Continue reading
The Writing Life
a lone tulip
in a sea of blooming phlox,
the writing life
Copyright 2018 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading
A Book by the Brook — Things To Do
Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
— William Shakespeare
Don’t read this new book unless you like imagining being things you’re not, like birds, honeybees, acorns and snails. If you do like the idea of rousing roosters like the dawn, dazzling the night like the moon or polka-dotting sidewalks like rain, then you will love Things to Do, by Elaine Magliaro, illustrated by Catia Chien, Chronicle Books, 2016. Continue reading
Friendly Fairy Tales 